


Can't Get Over You

by Abstract_Reality



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, First Love, Holding Hands, Teen Romance, gloria is a bold little gal, shy bede, touch-starved bede
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-22 09:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abstract_Reality/pseuds/Abstract_Reality
Summary: Bede never knew what a loving touch was before Gloria teaches him.This is a sort of retrospective look into the possible romance between Bede and the player character, Gloria.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 7
Kudos: 178





	Can't Get Over You

**Author's Note:**

> I just think that Bede and Gloria deserve a cute little relationship after the events of sword and shield.  
> So, here's two kids just enjoying being in love with a little bit of touch-starved Bede (of course, in a non-sexual context because he is a child!!!!).

Bede wasn’t one for physical touch. 

When he was a child, not every touch was kind. Not every touch meant that he was loved. Even when the chairman took him in, they didn’t have much physical contact outside of a clap on the shoulder or the ruffling of Bede’s hair. He loved that touch, though. He thought that it meant that the chairman cared. He was so starved for affection, so desperate for love, that Bede would go to any length to make the chairman proud of him.

But as time went on and he got older, and the chairman grew colder towards him, he realized that the man he once thought to hang the stars in the night sky was nothing more than a manipulator. A selfish man who never really cared about Bede or his dreams.

And then even the thought of those warm-hearted touches made Bede’s skin crawl.

Then, Gloria showed him what a loving touch was like.

With every brush of her fingertips on his arm, even through his jacket, he felt a spark of love. Not only from himself, but her as well. Gloria, the girl that he was so awful to at first, had love for him. The mere idea of it was scary. How could someone so bright, so kind, have any kind of love for Bede? Even after they became friends, he tried to reject her touch. He tried so hard. Scooting away from her when she sat too close and her arm brushed his. Squirming away if she tried to playfully ruffle his hair. But Gloria was relentless. 

He isn’t sure when her friendly love became something more, but he’s grateful everyday that it ever did in the first place.

When she held his hand for the first time, he thought he would faint. All the blood in his body rushed to his cheeks, and he stayed red for what felt like hours. But she never let go, and he didn’t dare try. Her hand felt so tiny in his. So warm. So heavy. He marveled at the feeling of her hand in his, thought about it for days afterwards. He admits, he had become quite obsessed with holding Gloria’s hand. Gloria, who could grasp the whole world in her fingertips if she wanted to, and all she really wanted to hold his hand. He felt like his heart would stop right then and there if he thought about it too much.

And Gloria, of course, oblivious Gloria, did nothing more but giggle and tell him she was glad that they were finally able to go on a date.

_ A Date. _

Bede is pretty sure he lost consciousness, for even just a second. Because holy crap. He  _ was  _ on a date with Gloria. Leon and Sonia were there, of course, supervising them as they walked from the restaurant back to where Gloria and Leon were going to catch a cab to head back to their home. But it was a date, nonetheless. And boy did the idea make his heart feel like he was hit by one of pikachu’s thunderbolts. Because it was a date with  _ Gloria.  _ Gloria, the champion. His old rival. His friend. His….girlfriend? Oh boy, he couldn’t even think about that without turning cherry red. 

Gloria, of course, kept holding on to his hand despite Bede’s obvious nerves. And when she let go to get into her flying cab with Leon, he found himself missing her touch immediately. He wanted to keep holding her hand. Holding it forever and never letting go. She smiled when he shoved his hands in his pockets, giving her a grumbled goodbye. Then she let out a little giggle, like she always does, and bid him farewell.

_ See you soon, Bede.  _ God, her words reverberated in his skull over and over again until all his thoughts were mush. 

After that, Gloria came to visit him often. Sometimes it was just briefly, a quick stop on her way to some press meeting. She was the champion after all, it made sense that she had a busy schedule. Other times, she stayed for a while. Even when Bede was training, she would sit and wait for him to be done for the day. Or in the early mornings when he was barely awake, offering to take him on a picnic with their pokemon. Making him sweet curry even though he knows she prefers spice, because she knows that Bede prefers it that way. They fell into a nice routine in their relationship. They were just kids, despite them both having very important jobs now. So it was nice to love like kids do. Soft, sweet, with some embarrassment along the way. Gloria would hold his hands, knowing that Bede was still too shy to initiate the contact himself, and Bede would blush and grip hers tight. He didn’t want to let her go.

And then, as he dropped her off at her flying cab for probably the hundredth time, Gloria leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Bede, of course, short-circuited almost immediately. He didn’t know what to do. Should he kiss her cheek as well? God, she smelled like strawberries and honey. Oh man, what if she thinks he doesn’t like her anymore if he doesn’t say something? Why can’t he say something? His heart was beating so fast. Was he having a heart attack? And then, as quick as she was there, Gloria was gone. Heading back home after a long day of walking around Bellonlea and shopping and eating snacks with him.

Ms. Opal teased him relentlessly that night, as he laid there on the couch holding his cheek. The spot where she kissed felt like it had been burned into his skin, tingling and hot. And it was a little sticky. She had been wearing lip gloss. Bede had buried his face in his hands, before rolling over and groaning into the couch. What if he had kissed her back? Would she be feeling the same tightness in her chest right now? No, Gloria’s too brave for these weak-hearted emotions. 

The next time she came to visit him, she seemed a little nervous. She let Bede know that she may have overstepped, and that she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable. That she wouldn’t do it again if Bede didn’t want her to. Bede wouldn’t have any of that, though. He didn’t say anything, just grabbed her hand gently and mumbled a quiet but firm  _ It’s fine, Gloria.  _ He tried not to focus on how wide she smiled after that, before dragging him along to a new cafe she wanted to try.

After that, Bede did his best to initiate contact. He was much more comfortable when it came to holding her hand now, and he didn’t blush so bad whenever she would kiss his cheek. It was sweet that she was so eager to show affection towards him. Nice, even. Something Bede didn’t even realize he was missing until she showed it to him. Left him wondering when he would get to hold her hand again when they were apart.

Then league season came around, and so did a new set of gym challengers, and Bede decided he was going to give himself a challenge.

He was going to kiss Gloria.

He plotted it out as the weeks went by and the pool of gym challengers became smaller and smaller. The Championship match was coming up, and they asked him to be there. Well, Gloria asked him to be there. But the thought of her asking him personally sent him into a spiral. Bede watched and competed along with the others, having the time of his life. Not that he would admit that to anyone other than Gloria. And Gloria, god she was stunning out there. It was like nothing could move past her. Win after win she kept on strong, congratulating every trainer who came her way, even though they all lost. Bede knows that he would never be so amicable if he were in her shoes, that’s for sure. Then again, before Gloria came into his life, he wasn’t the nicest person. He likes to think things have changed since then.

Then, his time came. He decided to walk Gloria to the tunnel entrance, watching her laugh and celebrate her first championship as the Galar champion. They stopped to face each other, and he remembers finding her so bright. He almost had to flinch away from the sight of her smile. She gazed up at him with her big, loving eyes, and he decided he was gonna do it. He held her face in his palms, watching as her brain slowed to try and process what was going to occur.

And then he chickened out. He quickly pressed a small kiss to her forehead, with a very quiet and rushed, ‘ _ Good luck out there Gloria.’  _ before rushing back to the stands to watch her battle. 

He could barely look her in the eyes for days after that. He was embarrassed that he couldn’t even kiss her. I mean, she’s his  _ girlfriend.  _ He couldn’t understand why it was so  _ hard _ to just, well, just get on with it! And he was equally embarrassed that he had kissed her on the forehead at all. What was he thinking? She must have thought he was such a fool.

But, she must not have, because he saw her again and again with her( now almost daily) visits. And sometimes she would look up at him with this shy love glinting in her eyes, waiting for him to kiss her forehead again. It felt foolish, being so nervous every time she gave him that look. But he complied, every time. Giving her a small smile that nobody but her was allowed to see.

Unsurprising to everyone, Gloria was the one who initiated their first kiss.

They were sitting in the theater together, talking and having a quick lunch between their individual training sessions. Bede was working on a new team composition lately, seeing how he could change things up to make the fairy gym challenge a little more complicated. And Gloria was training the same team she’s always had. Not that she needed to, really. She’s such a natural trainer, nobody would bat an eye if she decided not to train. They were talking about anything and everything, how Ms. Opal is looking to cast for her next theatre production, how Hop has been stopping by to train with Gloria on weekends, Piers’s upcoming show. Then, all of a sudden, she turns to him and kisses him right on the lips. She smelled like strawberries and honey again, and this time she was wearing coconut chapstick instead of lip gloss. Bede is so shocked that he barely remembers to close his eyes, savoring the brief moment. Then, as soon as her lips touch his, she pulls away. 

They’re both red from the tips of their ears to their cheeks, and Bede is suddenly, for the first time in a while, completely speechless. 


End file.
